July 25, 2014

Sierra Leone: Police use tear gas to curb Ebola-related riot

Residents of Kenema in eastern Sierra Leone threw stones at a hospital and a police station, spurred by a rumor that health workers were using Ebola as a ruse to kill people and collect body parts, a police official said.

The rumor was spread by a mentally ill former nurse, now in custody, who went to the city’s main market and told people Ebola was a hoax, police Assistant Inspector General Karrow Kamara said by phone. Police had to use tear gas to stop the crowd from destroying the Kenema Government Hospital, he said.

“Many people are saying there is no Ebola, and some others have been calling for the relocation of the Ebola treatment unit outside the premise of the Kenema hospital,” Kamara said.

Comments

Residents of Kenema in eastern Sierra Leone threw stones at a hospital and a police station, spurred by a rumor that health workers were using Ebola as a ruse to kill people and collect body parts, a police official said.

The rumor was spread by a mentally ill former nurse, now in custody, who went to the city’s main market and told people Ebola was a hoax, police Assistant Inspector General Karrow Kamara said by phone. Police had to use tear gas to stop the crowd from destroying the Kenema Government Hospital, he said.

“Many people are saying there is no Ebola, and some others have been calling for the relocation of the Ebola treatment unit outside the premise of the Kenema hospital,” Kamara said.